Thursday 15 December 2011

Review - The Other Place by Carol Arnall

When Carol Arnall asked me to review The Other Place telling me it was a little bit different to the majority of the books I write about, I wondered what on earth I was going to end up reading as she described it as a paranormal mystery.  Mmmmm sounded interesting I thought!


However, this book was a complete and utter joy to read.  From the moment I read the opening line, I knew I was going to love it.   Who couldn't love a book that says knickers in the first line?


The story is about Chrissie who lives with her sister Babs, her Mom Lilly and her stepfather Alf who has always seen his stepkids as an inconvenience in his lifem  in a eperiod in time when people didn't have TVs and washing machines and life was really tough.  Chrissie is a little "different" to other young girls, she's a real loner but lovely with it. 

Both Chrissie and Babs can't wait until they are in a position where they can leave home, Babs being the first and Chrissie not too far behind.  She has phobias, a memory of something that shouldn't happen to any human being, thinks she has a stalker, definitely has an imaginary friend and is generally unhappy with her life, until she meets Barbara who through hypnotherapy discovers that Chrissie has had a past life.


The story takes you through Chrissie's trials and tribulations of life along with her family and dips in and out of the past and the present in a way which is clearly identified and very easy to follow.   An interesting tale, with some perfectly formed characters and marvellous descriptions of places, and a beautiful friendship between two sisters which lasted the test of time made this such an enjoyable book to read.   A real page turner, with twists and turns along the way; one of those that you can't wait to pick up and find out how the story will unfold.  As the story developed I fell just a little bit more in love with this book.  It was one that had me getting up very early and the first thing on my mind was to carry on reading!  I could not put it down and had to force myself to get ready for work!  Needless to say it didn't take me very long to read. 


A beautifully written novel, and an absolute pleasure to read, I shall definitely be reading more of Carol's other work.  A very interesting author and I shall have to quiz her as to which bits of the book are based on true life if any at all! 


Carol lives near Cannock Chase in Staffordshire (yay - a local girl to me!)  When she is not writing, she loves taking photographs of the deer on Cannock Chase and also loves embroidery. 


Following a serious road accident in the late 1980s, Carol decided that as she could not return to work, she would write a book.  Always having an interest in the Supernatural she has written a number of ghostly booklets, later combining them into Mysterious Happenings.   Carol has also written other books, Memories of Rugeley, Dreams Explained, Birmingham Girls and Choosing Your Psychic Pathway. 


She decided to turn her hand to writing fiction in 2007, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of writing Dancing with Spirits and Spirits of the Lights the sequel. Both are full of mystical happenings.  The Other Place is Carol's third novel.  


You can buy The Other Place here via Amazon
You can learn more about Carol at http://www.carolarnall.com/
You can follow Carol on Twitter here
You can like Carol on Facebook here

3 comments:

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

This book sounds interesting, thank you.

Kelsey McBride said...

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great book. Have you read any of her other books? If so, which was your favorite?

Kim The Book Worm said...

Hi Kelsey,thanks for leaving a comment. Jen's Story is also a fabulous book. Carol is a wonderful writer and a lovely lady too as I have now met her and we talk via social media a lot. Her writing really appeals to me and the psychic connections too make her books incredibly readable. I do hope you try one of her books at least. She has written many, and I really do hope you enjoy them. Kim x